Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022) is a restart of the popular rebooted trilogy and a direct sequel to 2019's Modern Warfare. The campaign puts Captain Price, Soap, Ghost, and Alejandro Vasquez at the forefront in a fight against a drug cartel and General Ghorbrani's terrorist network, with an emphasis on action in enclosed interiors as well as sprawling open missions, including a night drop with thermal vision or an underwater infiltration of a harbor. The multiplayer introduced an improved weapon customization system, Gunsmith, and the game also serves as a springboard for the battle royale Warzone 2.0, with which it shares weapons, operators, and season progression.

On PlayStation 4, the game launched the same day as the next-gen PS5 version, but runs on significantly more limited old-generation hardware. The resolution is dynamic and typically lower than on PS5, the game doesn't target 4K and didn't receive the more sophisticated ray-traced shadows and reflections that only PS5 and Xbox Series X|S got. The frame rate remained capped at 60 frames per second, textures and the density of environmental detail were simplified compared to the next-gen version, and loading times were noticeably longer, since the PS4 doesn't have an SSD as standard. The DualShock 4 controller also doesn't offer adaptive triggers or the advanced haptic feedback the game uses on PS5 to simulate the recoil of individual weapons.

Content-wise – the campaign, multiplayer, cooperative Spec Ops, and the connection to Warzone 2.0 – the PS4 version was identical to other platforms; the difference was purely technical, in performance and visual quality, not in the number of available weapons, maps, or game modes. PS4 edition owners were also entitled to a free upgrade to the PS5 version as part of cross-gen support, which was standard for big Call of Duty releases of the time, and saved progress and unlocked weapons were automatically shared between both versions through a single game account.

Why play it: For players who don't yet plan to move to PS5, the PS4 version is fully-featured – the same content as elsewhere, plus a free upgrade and shared progress if they get a new console later.